MINNEAPOLIS--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Digital River, Inc., a leading global provider of Commerce-as-a-Service
solutions, announced the results of a commissioned study, which explores
the impact customer churn, or turnover, has on the growth, profitability
and innovation efforts of online subscription businesses. As
subscription services filter into every major industry from software and snowboards
to luxury
cars and baby
diapers, managing churn is a matter of business success and failure.
The study, conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Digital River,
is titled “The
Art and Science of Reducing Involuntary Subscriber Churn” and
available at http://driv.ws/gn.

“In
order to more effectively manage down subscriber churn, we believe that
businesses can no longer afford to focus on customer acquisition at the
expense of retention. That means, at a minimum, providing a seamless
payment experience from the beginning of the customer relationship
throughout the entire customer lifecycle.”

“Traditionally, firms focus their resources on customer acquisition.
However, losing existing customers to involuntary churn is the quiet
culprit of profit loss, since it costs two times more to acquire a new
subscriber than to keep an existing one,” said Jason Nyhus, vice
president of global marketing and communications for Digital River. “In
order to more effectively manage down subscriber churn, we believe that
businesses can no longer afford to focus on customer acquisition at the
expense of retention. That means, at a minimum, providing a seamless
payment experience from the beginning of the customer relationship
throughout the entire customer lifecycle.”

Some findings of the study include:

Companies surveyed reported that on average 62 percent of their
subscription revenue comes from renewals, underscoring the importance
of strong payment renewal processes.

Organizations lost, on average, more than one-third of their
subscribers to churn.

Sixty-eight percent of respondents said replacing customers lost to
churn is “very” or “extremely” challenging.

Those companies with revenue loss directly attributable to churn
reported losing an average of 17 percent of their annual subscription
revenue or profit.

More than one-third of respondents blamed churn for their reluctance
to spearhead new subscription pricing and packaging models, putting
them at a competitive disadvantage in a rapidly evolving industry.

The study provided recommendations for organizations to take a proactive
approach to reducing involuntary subscriber churn. Some of the
recommended tactics include:

Don’t accept that involuntary churn is a cost of doing business.

Combine customer and payments data for better decision making and
communications.

Consider using a full-service, integrated payments solution.

Use resource savings to invest in innovation.

For more details about the research findings, visit http://driv.ws/gn
for a copy of the study or http://driv.ws/go
to hear a replay of a Digital River webinar, featuring guest speaker,
Forrester analyst Lily Varon.

About the Research Study

From January 2017 to February 2017, Forrester Consulting conducted an
online survey of 204 senior-level executives throughout the U.S. and
Western Europe responsible for their organizations’ subscription and
recurring payment customer retention strategy.

About Digital River, Inc.

Backed by 20 years of ecommerce experience, Digital River is recognized
as a leading global provider of Commerce-as-a-Service solutions.
Companies of all sizes rely on Digital River’s cloud-based commerce,
payments and marketing services to manage and grow their online
businesses. In 2014, Digital River processed more than $35 billion in
online transactions, connecting B2B and B2C digital products companies
and branded manufacturers with buyers across multiple devices and
channels, and nearly every country in the world.

Digital River is headquartered in Minneapolis with offices across the
U.S., Asia, Europe and South America. For more details about Digital
River, visit the corporate
website, read the Digital
River Blog, follow the company on Twitter
or call +1 952-253-1234.

Digital River is a registered trademark of Digital River, Inc. All
other company and product names are trademarks, registrations or
copyrights of their respective owners.